Essential Windows 7 Downloads

New computer means that I get to go through the process of installing new applications as well as some old favorites. In case you are wondering, here is my list of essential Windows software downloads.

Office and Productivity

Open Office (free) with some excellent extensions that are now available.

AbiWord (free) When I write I like a word processor that gets and stays out of my way.

Gimpshop (free) Based on Gimp but it has a Photoshop style interface. Itâ€™s not quite Photoshop but itâ€™s not $600 either.

PDF Creator (free) Since I use Open Office which does a good job of publishing to PDF, I donâ€™t use this a lot but every once in a while I need a PDF from a different program and this does a great job.

Fox It Reader (free) So much faster than Adobe Acrobat that it is ridiculous and should make Adobe ashamed of themselves.

AVG Free (free) It does daily updates, is free, and stays out of the way a lot better than other anti virus programs out there.

Defraggler (free) I started to use this as I find it faster and more thorough then Windows Defrag.

Recuva (free) Wendy and Mark tend to delete things and then empty the Recycle Bin or things like that. This counters their best efforts.

Dropbox (free) I love Dropbox. I have it installed at home, work, and on both laptops. Instead of always looking for a thumb drive, I transfer up to 2 gigs at a time with Dropbox. If you arenâ€™t using it, you have no idea how useful this service really is.

Welcome

This is a weblog about urban issues, technology, & culture published by Jordon Cooper since 2001. You can read about me and the site here and if you are looking for one of my columns in The StarPhoenix, you can find them here.